<y 




SB 321 
.R62 

Copy 1 



Practical Gardening 



By 



F. F. ROCKWELL 




Issued by 

M c C A L L ' S MAGAZINE 

2 3 6-250 WEST 37th STREET 

NEW YORK 



Copyright, 1918, MoOall Company. 



Price 10 Cents 



MAY "oiaia 



©CI.A5 00525 



"Vuy ♦, 



1) 



pp- 



^^^ 



Chapter I 



Early Plans for the Garden 



To be really profitable, any garden 
must be skilfully planned. A love of 
gardening, and conscientious work 
will help one to succeed in growing things, 
but there is often so much duplication and 
waste in the summer garden, and conse- 
quent shortage in the fall and winter sup- 
plies, that the usual one fails to be as 
profitable as it might be with the same 
amount of time expended upon it. The 
importance of a 
careful planning of 
the garden cannot 
be over-emphasized. 
Also, it is im- 
portant to get at the 
planning of your 
garden early. It 
should be done be- 
fore your seeds, 
manure, fertilizers, 
and other materials 
are ordered. The 
seed-houses begin 
to send out their 
matter very early, 
indeed, for the com- 
ing season, and as 
their mailing-lists 
are always enor- 
mous, it would be 
wise for you not to 
delay any longer 
than necessary in 
ordering your seeds 
in order to avoid 
d i s appointment or 
substitution. The 
garden should be 
planned in the win- 
ter months before any seeds are ordered. 
First of all, in planning your garden, 
select a standard, or unit of measurement. 
As vegetables differ so much in habit of 
growth and yield, the simplest and most 
practical standard to use will be the "row." 
Plan to have your rows run the short way 
of your garden, and if it is wide, it may 
be desirable to make a path down the mid- 
dle of it. Having fairly short rows is an 
advantage, as then no one row will be too 
long for one vegetable. It always com- 




;UL1 INATING BEETS 



plicates matters to have to put two vege- 
tables in one row. If convenient, it is well, 
also, to have your rows either about fifty, 
twenty-five, or twelve and a half feet long. 
These are convenient lengths for the large, 
medium size, and small gardens, respect- 
ively, and since most catalogues and articles 
quote the amount of seed necessary to plant 
a one-hundred-foot row, proportioning will 
be a fairly simple matter for beginners. 
Having settled 
on the length of 
row which will be 
most convenient for 
you, for the next 
step decide on the 
approximate n u m- 
ber of rows of each 
of the vegetables 
you expect to srrow, 
basing this on the 
relative popularity 
of the different veg- 
etables at the family 
table. You can 
readily figure this ' 
out with the aid of 
the facts given in 
Chart I. 

As examples, let 
us take beets and 
cabbage. Beets are 
at their best when 
from half to three- 
fourths grown. The 
first two plantings 
should, therefore, be 
small — say, two or 
three twenty-five- 
f e e t rows for a 
family of four or five. The first planting 
should be made early in April, either from 
seed, or, in part, from transplanted plants ; 
the second planting, al)Out the middle of 
May ; and the last planting about the middle 
of June, to provide for fall use, and also 
enough to store for the winter — two to 
three bushels or more, if there is sufficient 
space. This will mean that the ground 
occupied by the first two plantings can be 
used later for other things after the early 
crop of lettuce, peas, etc., is gone. 



PLANTING DATA FOR PREPARING PLANTING PLAN 

Distance 

Betvvken 

Rows 

Beans (early) i8 in. 

Beans (wax) 15-24 in. 

Beans (lima; 18-2410. 

Beans (pole) 4 ft- 

Beets (early) 12-15 in. 

Beets (late) 12-15 in. 

Broccoli (early) 2 ft. 

Broccoli (late) 2-j ft. 

Brussels Sprouts 2 ft. 

Cabbage (early) 2 ft. 

Cabbage (late) 2-3 ft. 

Carrot (early) 12 in. 

Carrot (late) 12-15 i"- 

Cauliflower (early) 2 ft. 

Cauliflower (late) 2-3 ft. 

Celery 12 in. 

Corn (early) 3-4 ft. 

Corn (main crop) 4 ft. 

Cucumbers 4 ft. 

Eggplant 2j4 ft. 

Endive 12 in. 

Kohlrabi 1 8 in. 

Lettuce (plant) ... 12-15 in- 

Lettuce (seed) 12-15 in. 

Leek 15 in. 

Melons, Musk 4-6 ft. 

Melons, Water 6-8 ft. 

Onion 12-15 in. 

Onion (seedling) 12-15 in. 

Parsley 1 ft. 

Parsnips 15-18 in. 

Peas (smooth) 3 ft. 

Peas (wrinkled) 3-4 ft. 

Peas (late) 3-4 ft. 

Peppers 2 ^2 ft. 

Potato 28 in. 

Pumpkin 6-8 ft. 

Radish (early) i ft. 

Radish (late) i ft. 

Salsify 15-18 in. 

Squash (summer) 4-6 ft. 

Squash (winter) 6-8 ft. 

Swiss Chard 15-18 in. 

Tomato 4-5 ft. 

Turnip (early) 15 in. 

Turnip (late) 15 in. 



CHART number I 

4 



Seeds or 


N UMBER 


Plants for 


OF Days to 


50-FT. Row 


Mature 


1 pt. 


45-75 


I pt. 


5 5-80 


1 pt. 


60-90 


!4 pt. 


65-100 


100-150 


40-60 


I oz. 


75-90 


35 


50-90 


35 


100-140 


35 


100-140 


35 


70-100 


25-35 


120-180 


V2 oz. 


50-80 


/2 oz. 


60-90 


35 


50-80 


25 


100-140 


Vi oz. 


■ 25-150 


V2 pt. 


60-80 


'A pt. 


80-100 


Va. oz. 


60-75 


25 


40-60 


V2 oz. 


75-100 


^ oz. 


65-85 


so 


40-85 


Yt, oz. 


60-100 


V2 oz. 


120-150 


\k oz. 


90-120 


!4 oz. 


100-125 


V2 oz. 


120-175 


150 


90-150 


V2 oz. 


90-110 


Va, oz. 


100-150 


1 pt. 


50-65 


1 pt. 


6o-7S 


1 pt. 


70-80 


25 


40-60 


V2 pk. 


60-90 


'A oz. 


100-130 


V2 oz. 


25-40 


V2 oz. 


25-50 


J4 oz. 


125-150 


54 oz. 


60-75 


K oz. 




M oz. 


SO-60 


15-20 


40-60 


Vi oz. 


60-75 


yi oz. 


60-75 



PLANTING PLAN FOR SMALL GARDEN 



FIRST PLANTINGS 

Cabbage, early, 18 plants; Summer 18 
Cauliflower 



Beets 

Lettuce 

Spinach 

Beets, 2 rows . . 
Carrots, 2 rows. 

Turnips 

Lettuce 

Beets, 3 rows. . . 
Carrots 



Onions 

Parsnips 

Salsify 

Path i 

Swiss Chard i 

Peas, exira early 

Peas, main 

Rfanc: I string, i row 1 
^=*''^ ( snap, I row J ■ 

Peas 

Peas 

Corn, early 

Corn, medium 

Corn { ^'^^'^' ^ /°^'^, °^ ' 
( 4 rows of early. . . 

Beans, Limas 

Melons 

Tomatoes 

Peppers, 12; Eggplant, 1 

Cucumbers, 4 hills ^ 

Squash, Winter, 4 hills ( 

Squash 

Melon 



ite, or ) 



ft. I 
ft. J 

ft. 

ft. 
ft. 

ft. 
ft. 
ft. 
ft. 

ft. 
ft. 

ft. 
ft. 
ft. 
ft. 
ft. 

ft., 
ft.. 

a] 

3 ft. 
3 ft.^ 

i ft. ; 
6 ft. !- 

12 ft.j 



SUBSTITUTE PLANTINGS 
Celery, late 

Celery, early, i row 



Cauliflower, y, row 

Brussels Sprouts, yi row 
Cabbage, Winter 



.Beans, second planting, 2 rows. 
.Beans, last planting, 2 rows... 



Rye for Cover Crop, or Trench for 
Winter. 



Carrots, 3 rows 

Beets, 3 rows 

Lettuce, 2 rows. . . . 
Cos, yi row; Endive, 

Turnips, Winter . . . 



4 ft. 

3 ft. 

3 ft. 

3 ft. 

3 ft. 

3 ft. 



3 ft. 

3 ft. 

2 ft. 
I ft. 

3 ft. 



Remove, and Sow Cri.mson Clover or 
Rye and Vetch as Soon as Crop is 
Harvested. 



4 ft. 

5 ft. 

4 ft. Sow RvE 

........ 3 f t. L Possible. 

6 ft. 

4 ft. 

6 ft.J 

Unless otherwise specified, only one row is meant. 



Thickly as Early as 



CHART NUMBER 



Cabbage is one of the things frequently 
over-planted. Started in April, the early 
varieties will be ready in July. These will 
remain in good condition for about a 
month. If you count upon using cabbage 
twice a week, two heads at a meal, it is 
evident that a dozen and a half plants, or, 
at the most, two dozen, allowing a few for 
the cut worms, should be ample. Do not 
set out fifty or a hundred, just because you 
happen to have the plants. A packet of 
seeds sown in April, outdoors, will give 
you two or three dozen plants to transplant 
for late summer and fall use ; and another 
packet, sown in late May. will supply you 
with plants for your winter crop. 

Take your list, and from it make two 



new lists, putting in one all the vegetables 
which will occupy the ground the entire 
season, and in the other those that will 
mature in part of a season, and may suc- 
ceed or follow some other crop. Before 
each vegetable, put the number of rows 
you have estimated, and, after it, the dis- 
tance apart of rows, in feet or in inches — 
to tell you how much ground each will oc- 
cupy. For instance, in crops remaining all 
season, four rows of onions, one foot apart, 
will take up four feet, and so through your 
whole list of selected vegetables. 

Having these two lists of vegetables, 
and the amount of space each will require, 
mark off a rough plan on a sheet of paper, 
and put down on this each vegetable and 



the amount of space you have allowed for When you have made your rough plan 

it. The vegetables may be arranged as you and have arranged your vegetables as you 

wish, but if they are grouped according to will want them, go over them item by item 

time for planting, habit of growth, and so again, cutting out a row here and there, or 

on, the work will be much simplified (see rearranging your combination crops until 

Chart No. 2). In this way you can shift the spaces occupied and the length of the 

on paper, and not in your garden. garden balance exactly. 



TESTED VARIETIES OF VEGETABLES 


VEGETABLES 


VARIETIES 


Beets 


Early Model; Columbia; Crimson Globe; Detroit Dark Red. 


Beans (early) 


. . . . Stringless Green Pod; Bountiful; Early Red Valentine. 


Beans (wax) 


....Rust-proof Golden Wax; Burpee's Kidney Wax; White Wax. 


Beans (lima) 


....Burpee Improved; Henderson's Bush; Dreer's Bush. 


Beans (pole) 


....Burger's Stringless Green Pod; Sunshine Wax; Worcester 
Pole 


Beans (pole lima) 


.... Early Leviathan ; Giant Podded. 


Cabbage 


....Copenhagen Market; All Head; Succession. 


Cabbage (late) 


....Perfection Savoy; Danish Roundhead; Danish Red. 


Cauliflower 


....Snowball; Dry Weather; Best Early. 


Carrot 


....Short Horn: Coreless; St. Vallery; Danver Chantenay. 


Corn 


....Golden Bantam; Peep 0' Day; Howling Mob; Early Crosby. 


Corn (main crop) 


....White Evergreen; Country Gentleman; Seymour's Sweet 




Orange; Black Mexican. 


Celery 


....Golden Self-Blanching; Winter Queen; Emperor. 


Cucumbers 


....Davis Perfect; Vickery's Forcing; Fordhook Famous. 


Lettuce 


....Mignonette; Grand Rapids; Wayahead; Iceberg; Big Boston; 




All-seasons; Brittle Ice; New York; Salamander. 


Leeks 


....American Flag; Giant Musselberg. 


Onion 






Ailsa Craig; Gigantic Gibraltar. 


Melons, Water 


Coles' Early; Halbert Honey; Ice Cream; Baby Delight. 


Melons, Musk 


....Emerald Gem; Netted Gem; Henderson's Bush; Montreal; 




Spicy. 


Peas (smooth) 


....Best Extra Early; Alaska; Clipper; Pilot. 


Peas (wrinkled) 


....Little Marvel; Laxtonian ; Blue Bantam (dwarfs); Gradus; 






Peas (late) 


.... Boston Unrivaled; Royal Salute; British Wonder (dwarf). 


Pepper 




Potato 


Irish Cobbler; Gold Coin. 


Radish (early) 


....Rapid Red; Crimson Globe; Icicle. 


Radish (late) 


....White Strasburg; Chartiers. 


Squash (summer) 


....Scalloped Bush; Fordhook Bush; Delicata. 


Squash (winter) 


.... Hubbard; Delicata; Delicious; Blue Hubbard. 


Tomato 




Turnip (early) 


....White Milan; Petrowski; Amber Globe. 


Turnip (late) 


.... Amber Globe (yellow) ; White Egg. 



CHART NUMBER 3 

6 



Chapter II 



Starting Plants 



ONE of the most important things to 
be considered if you want to make 
your garden a success, is to have on 
hand plenty of strong, well-grown plants of 
all vegetables which may be started early 
and then transplanted, ready to be set out 
into the vegetable garden when weather 
conditions permit. 

By setting out started plants you not only 
gain several weeks' time, but success is much 
more certain than with extra early crops 
planted from seed. The list of vegetables 
that can be started ahead in this way, and 
set out when partly grown, includes cab- 
bage, cauliflower, lettuce, beets, onions, 
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and celery. 
In addition to these, melons, cucumbers, 
lima beans, sweet corn, and squash can 
be started and transplanted with almost as 
great advan- 
tage, and with 
much less 
trouble. O f 
course, if you 
buy your 
plants, this 
will be ex- 
pensive, but 
you can start 
them just as 
well yourself 
even without 
a greenhouse. 

To do this, 
you must meet the plant's three require- 
ments : heat, moisture and light. If you 
have a hotbed, you will probably use that ; 
but if you have not, a warm sunny window 
such as you can easily appropriate, in the 
kitchen or living-room, for a few weeks in 
early spring, will answer the purpose. The 
seedlings, when first started, require very 
little room. It is only after they are trans- 
planted that they begin to take up space. 
Your planting should be so arranged that 
you can, at transplanting time, put them 
into a frame out of doors. 

So far as heat is concerned, a tempera- 
ture of from forty-five to fifty degrees at 
night will answer for the vegetables you 
will want to start early. It will be possible 
to have good plants, even if the tempera- 




ture goes down to forty occasionally, but 
growth will not be quite so rapid. You 
will not want to put in tomatoes, eggplants 
and peppers, which are all "warm-blooded" 
things, until two or three weeks after the 
earlier things are sown. For these, the 
night temperature should average higher, 
say fifty to sixty degrees. 

Undoubtedly, the most general cause of 
failure in starting plants indoors is insuffi- 
cient moisture. The air in many houses, 
particularly if they are heated with hot air 
or with steam, is so dried out that it is 
almost impossible to keep the soil in the 
seed boxes uniformly moist; and when the 
little plants begin to grow they need 
moisture in the air as well as in the soil. 
One way of overcoming this difficulty is 
to keep pans or saucers of water evaporat- 
ing on radia- 
tors, or on 
the stove, so 
that moisture 
is being con- 
tinually given 
off to be ab- 
sorbed by the 
a b n o r m al- 
ly dry air. 
Another 
help comes 
through ven- 
t i 1 a t i n g as 
frequently as 
possible without getting the room too 
chilly, and thus maintaining a supply of 
fresh, moist air from the outside. When 
the plants once begin to grow, frequent 
ventilation to supply fresh air will be one 
of the most important factors in keeping 
them in healthy, vigorous condition. Where 
they are grown in a window, however, care 
should be taken that there is no direct draft 
upon them, as sudden change in tempera- 
ture is likely to check them severely. 

With the exception of the few days 
during which the seeds are germinating, 
and a day or two after transplanting, the 
little seedlings will want all the sunlight 
you can possibly give them. Otherwise, 
while they may grow vigorously, they will 
be tall, spindling, and weak; and for good 



DLINGS READY TO TRANSPLANT 




results, a stocky plant is just as essential 
as one of good size. If they all cannot 
hav'e an equal amount of light, the smallest 
untransplanted seedlings should be given 
the preference. As a general rule, how- 
ever, it will be better to start no more 
than the number which can receive full 
light. 

Soil and seed pans or boxes — "flats" 
they are called — in which to start the seed- 
lings are your first necessity. If you have 
followed the advice given in Chapter i, 
you should know just how many plants 
of each va- 
r i e t y you 
will require. 
An ounce of 
beet seed 
and a pack- 
et each of 
the other 
things will 
be an ample 
supply for a 
small gar- 
den. In fact, 
a very good 
result from 

half these amounts should furnish you with 
plenty of good plants for transplanting, and 
if you put in only half the seed at the first 
sowing, the rest can be saved for a second 
planting, in case the first fails. 

Small earthenware "seed pans," which 
are made something like extra deep flower- 
pot saucers, can be bought at a hardware 
store, and are very convenient for starting 
small quantities of seeds. Cigar boxes are 
sometimes used, but the wood is thin and 
warps easily and the soil dries out more 
quickly in them. If you want to use boxes, 
get a wooden cracker-box and saw it up 
into sections from two to two and a half 
inches deep, and put bottoms on these. 
Leave half -inch cracks for drainage. A 
half a dozen, or even a dozen different 
kinds of seeds may be sown in one "flat" 
if you want only a few dozen plants of 
each. The soil will not dry out so quickly 
in such an arrangement as this, and will 
not need so much attention as a half dozen 
small boxes. When transplanting time 
comes, each variety can have a box to 
itself. 

The soil for starting seed should be 
very light and friable (that is, easily 
crumbled) ; if j^ou have to prepare your 
own, add builders' sand and leaf mold, or 
chip dirt (which you can gather in the 



IN TR.'iNSPLANTING, SAVE ALL THE ROOTS POSSIBLE 



woods or from under the woodpile and 
rub through an ordinary ash sieve) to 
your regular garden soil. The resulting 
mixture should be light and springy, so 
that it will absorb moisture readily and 
will not pack or cake on the surface. Soil 
which gets hard on the surface will not 
permit the little starting seedlings to come 
through — and then the seedsman is blamed 
for furnishing poor seeds. Both com- 
mercial humus and coconut fiber are good 
spongy materials with which to cover 
vour seeds, if your soil cannot otherwise 

be made 
just right. 

In filling 
the pans or 
"flats" for 
the seeds, 
press the 
soil down 
firmly, espe- 
c i a 1 1 y in 
every c o r- 
ner ; not to 
pack it, but 
to keep it 
from being 
fluffy. If it is at all dry, give it a thorough 
watering with a fine rose spray, and let 
it stand for several hours until the water 
has soaked in and the surface is dry 
enough not to be sticky when you touch it. 
Mark ofl^ shallow drills with the point of 
a lead pencil, or with the end of a wooden 
label. Beet seeds, which are large, can be 
placed about a quarter of an inch deep, 
but the others should be barely covered. 
After planting, give a moderate watering 
which will help to swell the seeds at once. 

Label each variety carefully as it is 
planted. A pane of glass laid over each 
seed-pan or box, not fitted tight enough to 
prevent the free admission of air, will aid, 
very materially in keeping the surface of 
the soil from drying out and will hasten 
germination. Immediately after planting, 
the pans, or "flats," should be put into a 
warm place, on top of a radiator, or near 
a stove. Light is not essential until after 
germination takes place, but the receptacles 
should be watched carefully every day, as 
leaving them so close to heat even a day too 
long may spoil the whole planting. 

Rig up in front of the window you 
have available, a plain board shelf of suffi- 
cient size to accommodate your planting 
operations. This may be supported by an 
old table or a movable support made for 



the purpose. On the edge of this may be 
tacked a guard of shingle lath, coming just 
above the surface. This will go a long way 
toward helping you to keep from mussing 
up the room when caring for your plants. 

These little seedlings should begin to 
break the surface of the soil in from three 
to ten days after planting, according to 
variety and the amount of warmth they 
have. Watch the soil carefully and do not 
let it dry out. It is well to water it as in- 
frequently as possible, but if the soil begins 
to get dry, water it thoroughly, at once, 
with a very fine spray. 

As soon as the little plants break 
ground, remove the pans or boxes to tlieir 
shelf, v/ithin reach of full sunlight. They 
will develop rapidly, and for the next four 
to six weeks careful attention must be 
given to watering and ventilation to keep 
them growing steadily and vigorously. 
The temperature during the day in the 
bright sunlight may run up from ten to 
fi f t e e n de- 
grees above 
the night 
average. They 
should be 
watched care- 
fully, every 
day, to see 
that the soil 
does not dry 
out, but over- 
watering 
should be 
equally 
avoided. Dur- 
ing February 

and March it is better to water on bright, 
sunny forenoons so that the foliage dries 
off before night. If the sun is "baking 
hot" during the day, a piece of cheesecloth 
hung over the window will break its force 
without keeping out the light. 

A fungus disease, known as "damping 
off," sometimes destroys the plants during 
the early stages of growth. It attacks the 
stems near the surface of the soil and 
causes the little seedlings to fall over. If 
it appears, keep the plant as warm and as 
dry as possible and sprinkle flowers of 
sulphur over the soil. 

As soon as the first pair of true leaves 
is well out, and the second set is develop- 
ing, the little seedlings will be ready for 
transplanting. As a rule, the sooner this is 
done the better. There is thus less danger 
of losing the plants, and they get over the 




LETTUCE SEEDLINGS AFTER TRANSPLANTING 



shock of transplanting more quickly. The 
soil used for transplanting should be rich 
and light. Compost removed from the last 
year's hotbed, and garden soil, mixed with 
the new, makes an excellent combination. 
A little manure, if old and very thoroughly 
rotted, should be put in the bottoms of the 
"flats" or pans. The pans used for trans- 
planting should be three inches or so in 
depth, and the soil packed down to a fair 
degree of firmness. An ordinary cracker- 
box "flat" will hold from four to six dozen 
plants. The fewer you put in, the stronger 
plants you will get. 

Having everything in readiness, take 
the little seedlings out of their original 
beds, carefully, a few at a time. Lay them 
out with the roots all one way, and then 
with the forefinger, or a small pointed 
stick, make a hole in one corner of tlie new 
box deep enough to take the seedling to be 
transplanted well up to the first leaves; 
then, with the forefingers and thumbs of 

both hands 
press down 
the soil firmly 
aliout it. Mark 
oft' your rows 
and proceed 
until the "flat" 
is filled. Then 
jar the sides 
with the palm 
of the hands 
sufficiently to 
level the soil 
and even 
down the lit- 
tle ridges. 
Give a tliorough watering, and shade from 
bright sunlight during the midday hours, 
for three or four days. 

The transplanted seedlings will prob- 
ably have to be put into a mild hotbed or 
into a cold frame. This should be kept 
with less than the usual amount of ventila- 
tion until the seedlings have become estab- 
lished. Water sparingly the first two or 
three days. 

Plants should be started in clay or 
square paper pots from two to four weeks 
before setting outdoors. In the bottom of 
the pot put an inch or so of rich compost 
and soil on top of this. Thin out to three 
or four of the best plants as soon as they 
are well started. The plants should be 
thoroughly hardened by leaving the glass 
off the frame for several nights before set- 
ting them out. 



Chapter III 



Soil for the Spring Garden 



THERE are three factors which enter 
into the preparation of your garden 
for big and continued yields of high 
quality of vegetables: the first is the phys- 
ical condition of the soil ; the second, the 
bacteriological condition ; and the third, the 
chemical contents. The knowledge of these 
factors forms the A-B-C of gardening. 

The physical condition of the soil means 
its characteristics — that is, whether it is 
light, heavy, sandy, gravelly, or mostly 
clay. It includes also the condition it is in, 
as a result of cultivation, or of neglect: 
that is, whether it is packed down hard, or 
broken up in 
lumps, or what 
is called "in 
good tilth" — 
deep and finely 
pulverized, and 
soft and mealy 
— the kind you 
like to work in 
with your 
hands, and 
in which it is a 
pleasure to use 
a hoe. No 
matter how 
limited your 
garden experi- 
ence may have 
been, you could 
probably r e c- 
ognize soil that 
is in good con- 
dition physic- 
ally ; how to 

get it into good condition, is another story. 
The earlier in the spring you can begin 
work on your garden, the better it will be. 
Of course, you cannot touch it until the 
frost is out of the ground, and after that, 
it will be several days, or possibly a couple 
of weeks — according to the nature and 
condition of the soil, and climatic condi- 
tions — before it will be dry enough to 
"work." You can tell when it is ready by 
taking a spade or fork, and turning the 
surface earth. If it breaks and crumbles 
readily when you drop it on the ground, 
the sooner you can get to work at it, the 




HOEING A CAULIFLOWER GARDEN 



better. If it has a tendency, however, to 
remain in a wet, muddy mass, it should be 
left for a while longer. 

The initial operation is to turn the soil 
over — to spade it up, or to plow it. Unless 
your garden is a very small one, it will be 
cheaper and better to have it plowed ; but 
whether by hand- or by horse-tools, the 
work should be done very thoroughly. 
Every square foot of the soil should be 
turned over and broken, from four to 
six inches deep, down to the "sub-soil" — 
which is the layer of hard, uninviting-look- 
ing dirt that lies below the surface soil. 

After your 
garden has 
been plowed or 
spaded up, it 
will be in a 
rough and 
lumpy c o n d i- 
tion. The next 
step is to har- 
row it. If it is 
too small for 
horse-tools, go 
over it with 
the prong hoe 
and iron rake, 
or the rake at- 
t a c hment on 
your hand 
wheel-hoe. un- 
til it is pulver- 
ized as deep 
down as pos- 
sible. It may 
be several 
weeks or even two months from this time 
before you will have finished planting, 
but it is best to go over the whole surface 
immediately after plowing or spading. 

Pulverizing the soil accomplishes two 
things : it provides a surface which will 
soak up rain rapidly, and from which, on 
account of the soil mulch on the top, 
moisture will not rapidly evaporate ; it gives 
the first crop of weed-seeds a chance to 
sprout. Whenever you plant after that, 
only a few minutes' work with an iron 
rake will be necessary, providing the pul- 
verizing was well done in the beginning. 



As to the bacteriological condition of 
soil, it has long since been proved that 
the richness or fertility of any soil de- 
pends, to a great extent, upon the presence 
in it of large numbers of soil bacteria. 
One of the things which they require is 
plenty of vegetable matter. This may be 
supplied by addmg manure to the soil ; by 
turning under sod or some other growing 
crop to decay in the soil ; or by using com- 
mercial humus, which is now being used, 
to a large extent, as a partial substitute for 
manure. 

If you buy commercial fertilizer, the 
best for your garden should contain four 
per cent, of nitrogen ; eight per cent, of 
phosphoric acid; 
and ten per cent, of 
potash. This year, 
however, on account 
of the war, it will 
probably be impos- 
sible to obtain fer- 
tilizers with ten 
per cent, of potash. 
To make up tliis de- 
ficiency, if it exists 
for j'ou, use wood 
ashes. 

Most garden 
soils, especially 
those that have been 
used continuously 
for years, tend to 
become acid, or 
"sour," and many 
kinds of vegetables 
do not grow well in 
them. Your garden 
may be made sweet 
by the addition of 
lime. If you use 
plenty of wood 
ashes, that will be 
all that is neces- 
sary ; but if you 
cannot secure these, 
get a bag or two of 
ground limestone, which costs very little, 
when you buy your fertilizer. The ground 
limestone is a fine white powder, wh'cli is 
clean and easy to handle, and has no dis- 
agreeable smell. You should use two or 
three times as much limestone as fertilizer ; 
but it will not be necessary to use it oftener 
than once in three years, and it can be put 
on in the fall as well as in the spring. 

To give the garden a good dressing of 
manure, such as market gardeners apply. 




MAKING WASTE PLACES YIELD 



from one-half to one cord will be required 
for a garden fifty feet by thirty feet. The 
earlier you can get it, the better, especially 
if you can have it stacked up in a square 
heap in one corner of the garden to fer- 
ment before you use it. If the frost is out, 
it can be spread directly on the ground, 
even if it will be some time before you 
have a chance to plow or spade it. If 
spread on the frozen ground, it will keep 
the frost in, and delay your getting an early 
start in the spring. The manure should 
be spread as evenly as possible, before the 
plowing or spading is done. It should be 
turned under carefully, in order that no 
long straw or lumps remain on the surface. 
Fertilizers, hu- 
nuis. and lime 
should be applied 
after plowing or 
spadijig, but before 
the first raking and 
fining of the soil. 
If no manure is to 
be had, both humus 
and commercial 
fertilizers should be 
used generously. 
One supplies the 
vegetable matter 
and the bacteria, 
and the other plant 
food. More fertil- 
izer will be needed 
with humus alone 
than with manure. 
In addition to a 
good dressing of 
manure, apply a 
high-grade, complete 
fertilizer, using two 
pounds per hundred 
square feet of soil. 
If no manure has 
been used, double 
this quantity. 

For each one 
hundred square feet 
of surface, use ten to twenty pounds of 
lime. If you have used wood ashes 
annually, no lime will be needed. To deter- 
mine definitely whether or not your garden 
needs lime, put some soil in a cup ; add 
water, then insert a strip of litmus paper. 
If it turns pink, lime is needed ; if red, a 
heavy application of 'lime is desirable. 

The raking and fining of your soil 
should be done immediately after it is 
plowed or spaded. 



II 



Chapter IV 



Starting the Garden Right 



THE first step toward success is the 
preparation of the seed-bed — or sur- 
face soil. While the seed remains 
in tlie packet dormant, it will stand a good 
deal of knocking about and abuse ; but the 
moment you put it into the soil, the spell 
is liroken ; and unless it finds conditions 
which are congenial, the vegetable or flower 
you expected to develop from it, will never 
materialize. 

Moisture, warmth, and a covering which 
is not so deep or hard that it cannot be 
thrust aside are necessary for seed 
growth. Almost all flower seeds and most 
vegetable seeds should be covered very 
lightly. The top layer or surface of the 



soil, to the depth of an inch or so, dries 
out, however, very rapidly. The gardener's 
first problem in planting, therefore, is to 
provide a continuous supply of moisture 
for the seeds without covering them so deep 
that they will be hindered in coming up. 

Always plant on a freshly prepared seed 
surface. Bring fresh, moist soil close up 
around the seeds so that they will swell 
and sprout soon. 

To make a good seed-bed rake over the 
surface of the soil until it is very level and 
finely pulverized. Do this after plowing 
and again before planting. 

Plant with the inexpensive seed drill ; 



PLANTING TABLE 



VEGETABLES 


WHEN TO PLANT 


PLANT IN 


ROWS APART 


APART IN ROW 


BEPTH TO COVER 


Asparagus, 


April-May 


Trench 


3 ft. 


I ft. 


4 in. 


Beets, 


April-May 


Drills 


12-15 in. 


3-4 in. 


I in. 


Beets, late, 


May -J Line 15 


Drills 


12-15 in 


3-4 in. 


1 in. 


Beans, early. 


May-June 15 


Drills 


18 in. 


3-4 in. 


1-2 in. 


Beans, w;ix, 


May-June 15 


Drills 


15-24 in. 


3-4 in. 


1-2 in. 


Beans, lima, dwarf, 


May-June 15 


Drills 


18-24 in. 


4-6 in. 


1-2 in. 


Beans, pole, 


May-June 15 


Hills 


4 ft. 


4 ft. 


1-2 in. 


Cabbage (plants). 


April-May 


Rows 


2 ft. 


iK. ft. 




Cauliflower (plants), 


April-May 


Rows 


2 ft. 


1K2 ft. 




Carrots, 


April-May 


Drills 


12 in. 


2-3 ft. 


V2 in. 


Corn, 


May-June 


. Drills 


3-4 ft. 


3 ft. 


2 in. 


Celery, 


April-May 


Trench 


12 in. 


2-3 in. 


%-'A in. 


Cucumbers, 


May-June 


Hills 


4 ft. 


4 ft. 


1 in. 


Eggplant (plants), 


May-June 


Rows 


2Vz ft. 


2 ft. 




Endive, 


April-May 


Rows 


12 in. 


12 in. 


'A in. 


Kohlrabi, 


April-May 


Drills 


18 in. 


6-8 in. 


V2 in. 


Lettuce, 


April-May 


Drills 


12-15 in. 


8-12 in. 


V2 in. 


Melons, Musk, 


April-May 


Drills 


12-15 in. 


2-3 in. 


V2 in. 


Onion, 


May-June 


Hills 


4-6 ft. 


4-6 ft. 


■4-1 in. 


Parsley, 


April-May 


Drills 


I ft. 


4 6 in. 


^■/2 in. 


Parsnip, 


April-May 


Drills 


15-18 in. 


3-5 in. 


y2-\ in. 


Peas, smooth 


April-May 


Drills 


3 ft. 


2-4 in. 


1-2 in. 


Peas, wrinkled. 


April-May 


Drills 


3-4 ft. 


2-4 in. 


3-4 in- 


Peas, late. 


May-June 


Drills 


3-4 ft. 


2-3 in. 


3-4 in. 


Peppers (plants). 


May-June 


Rows 


2'/, ft. 


15-18 in. 




Potato, 


April-May 


Rows 


28 in. 


13 in. 


3-4 in. 


Pumpkin, 


May-June 


Hills 


6-8 ft. 


6-8 ft. 


V2 in. 


Radish, 


April-May 


Drills 


I ft. 3 in. 


2-3 in. 


V2 in. 


Salsify, 


April-May 


Drills 


15-18 in. 


2-4 in. 


1-2 in. 


Squash, 


May- June 


Hills 


4-6 ft. 


3-6 ft. 


I in. 


Swiss Chard, 


April-May 


Drills 


15-18 in. 


8-12 in. 


V2 in. 


Tomato (plants), 


May-June 


Hills 


3-4 ft. 


2-3-4 ft. 




Turnip, 


April-May 


Drills 


15-1S in. 


4-6 in. 


V?. in. 



CHART NUMBER 4 
\2 



it opens a furrow, distributes the seeds 
evenly, closes the furrow with the fresh, 
moist soil on top of the seed, firms down 
the soil above the planted seed, and marks 
out the next row, all in one operation. 
One should be sure to let the surface of 
the freshly raked soil dry out for several 
hours before planting is attempted. Small 
seeds, such as carrots, cauliflowers, lettuce, 
onions, radish, and 
turnips, should be 
sown quite thickly — 
eight to twelve to 
the inch. This is, of „ 
course, much thicker 
than the plants can 
grow, but some of 
them will fail to 
come up, and others 
will meet with ac- 
cidents of various 
sorts, and in order 
to get the plants 
thick enough so that 
there will be no 
skips or bare places 
in the row, the seeds 
are purposely sown 
too thickly, and the 
plants thinned out, 
as soon as they are 
well started, to the 
distance required. 
The seeds just men- 
tioned are covered 
from a quarter to a 
half inch deep. This 
is also the right 
depth for Brussels 
sprouts, cabbage, 
cauliflower, and 
celery, which are 
usually sown in 

rows in the same way as the above — but 
not so thick — thinned out to stand from 
three to four inches apart, and then trans- 
• planted as soon as they begin to crowd. 
Larger seeds, such as beans, peas, and 
sweet corn, are planted from one to two 
inches deep, while the vine vegetables, such 
as melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, 
and citron, are planted from one-half to 
one inch deep. 

Some of the larger seeds, such as 
peas, beans, and corn, are often planted by 
hand. A drill or furrow two or three 
inches deep is opened up with a hoe. The 
seed should be dropped and covered at 
once while the soil is still moist. If the 



EARLY APRIL GARDENING 



soil is at all dry, it should be pressed 
down firmly in the furrow with the back 
of the hoe so that every seed will be 
brought into close contact with the soil ; 
and after it is covered, the top of the row 
should again be lightly firmed. 

Extra deep or trench planting is some- 
times used. A furrow or trench six inches 
or so deep is opened up and the seed is 
planted in the bot- 
tom of this, and 
covered with an 
inch or two of soil. 
As the plants grow, 
more soil is put in 
and in this way the 
trench is gradually 
filled up level with 
the soil, although it 
is a good plan to 
make a slight eleva- 
tion in order to 
drain off surplus 
water. The purpose 
of this planting is to 
get the roots far 
below the surface 
of the soil, where 
they will remain 
cool and moist dur- 
ing very hot weath- 
er. Late plantings 
of garden peas, 
set out in this way, 
will be much better 
able to withstand 
the dry weather of 
June and July. 
Celery plants may 
be set out in nar- 
row trenches several 
inches deep, the 
gradual filling in of 
the soil helping to hold them upright as 
they grow. 

In the accompanying table you will 
notice that the various vegetables are to 
be planted in drills, rows or hills. As 
there is generally confusion in regard to 
the meaning of these terms— a few words 
of explanation will help to make the mat- 
ter more clear. 

Planting in drills means the sowing of 
seeds in a continuous line, so that the plants 
will come up quite close together; the 
plants are thinned out after they are well 
started to prevent overcrowding. 

Planting in rows means sowing the 
seeds at equal distances, usually far enough 




13 



apart to allow cultivating the plants in 
rows. Placing in hills means puttnig 
several plants together, usually several feet 
apart each way. The hills are generally 
enriched hefore they are planted. Where 
the row is to be sown or planted by hand, 
it is often advisable to enrich it by opening 
up a furrow, sowing fertilizer or manure, 
either in a continuous line or at the points 
where the plants are to be set, and mixing 
it with the soil, before planting. Hills are 
usually enriched by digging out a space a 
foot and a half to two feet square— four 
inches or so deep, mixing fertilizer or 
manure with the soil at the bottom, and 
then replacing the soil which had been 
removed. This special preparation is espe- 
cially recommended for the vine crops, as 
they are planted late, and are much more 
likely to survive the attacks of insects if 
they are able to make a robust, rapid growth 
from the very beginning. 

The common vegetables in the garden, 
such as cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, extra 
early beets, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, 
should be set out as partly grown plants, 
obtained from the seedsman or started in 
the cold frame or seed border. Thorough 
preparation and fining of the soil is just 
as essential for success in transplanting 
plants as for sowing seeds. In trans- 
planting, no matter how carefully the work 
is done, the roots are more or less dis- 
placed and broken up, and a large percent- 
age of them is lost altogether. Before they 
can continue their work of absorbing 
moisture from the soil and of sending it 
up to the leaves above, where most of it 
is rapidly evaporated, they must produce 
new feeding rootlets or root hairs. This 
takes several days, even under favorable 
conditions. For this reason, it is desirable 
to cut back the tops of the plant from one- 
half to a third just before transplanting. 
Otherwise, the roots cannot supply moisture 
to the leaves as fast as it is needed, and the 



result is that the whole plant wilts. In 
trimming back the plant, cut the large out- 
side leaves, being careful not to injure the 
new ones that are just developing. The 
soil in which the plants just set out are 
growing, whether in cold frames, pots, or 
flats, should be moist, but not wet, when 
they are transplanted. Water thoroughly 
twenty- four hours or so before you expect 
to transplant. 

The rows or hills having been prepared 
in advance, and the plants made ready, the 
work of transferring them to the soil 
should be done as quickly as possible, and 
preferably on a cloudy or drizzly day, or 
late in the afternoon. 

Plants growing in flats should be cut 
out with an old knife or a transplanting 
fork. In digging them up from the frames, 
or in the garden, lift them carefully with 
the trowel so as to get a good ball of 
roots. Only a few should be handled at a 
time, so that there will be the least possi- 
ble danger of their drying out or wilting 
before they are put into the ground. It is 
of the greatest importance in transplant- 
ing to get the soil firm about the roots. 
Set the plant in deep so that there is not 
much stem above the ground, and firm the 
earth around it as much as you can with 
the fingers. There is no danger of getting 
it too firm. Except in wet weather or in 
very heavy soil, it is a good plan to go 
back over the row, after planting, and press 
the soil down with your feet. 

A mistake that is often made is to 
water newly set out plants on the surface 
of the soil. If the weather and the soil 
are so dry that water must be used, put 
it in the bottom of the hole below the 
roots, before you put in the plant. If you 
have to water after that to keep the plant 
from wilting, you can make a hole beside 
each plant with the end of the hoe handle, 
and pour in the water, letting it soak away 
gradually. 



14 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



000 928 531 3 



